Ancient Noble Houses
by SinsOfDragons
Summary: In a world where Harry Potter dies in Malfoy Manor, Voldemort reigns supreme. But the cost of his victory leaves a bitter taste in even his most loyal. Secrets unearthed will lead to new alliances being formed and an ancient house seeking revenge for the blood of their own that has been spilled. Dark AU. JK Rowling owns this world. Rated M. Warnings inside.
1. Rituals in the Dark

_**Authors Note.**_

 _This is a very different kind of story than those that I normally write, so with that in mind, I will warn of the following now. This story will be explicit, contain violence, foul language, and sex. There will be deaths because all things must end. It is set AU and during the marauder era._

" _Another head hangs lowly  
Child is slowly taken  
And the violence causes silence  
Who are we mistaken?  
But you see, it's not me  
It's not my family  
In your head, in your head, they are fighting.."_

 _ **The Cranberries - Zombie.**_

"Dear Diary, I guess you could say it all started with a bang. One second I had been ducking curses, the next I had fallen onto the dining room table disturbing what I think had been a lovely meal. But considering the mess I made it was hard to tell. Lucius Malfoy had either cursed or saved me and even weeks later I cannot decide which is true. We never escaped Malfoy Manor, we never managed to free ourselves from the death-eaters clutches. Harry and Ron had died in Malfoy Manor, Peter Pettigrew had disobeyed Bellatrix and summoned the dark lord who had been furious that she had wasted time on torturing me. Voldemort had said that I was a no one, a child with no name and no real power but they had two heirs to noble houses that had not joined the dark lord's cause. And so I had been thrown into the dungeons as Voldemort killed Ron and Harry after what must have been hours of torture.

The wizarding world had crumbled under Voldemort's rule after that, with no chosen one to save them all, and those brave enough to fight killed off Voldemort was free to rule. All muggleborns were rounded up and put to work as little better than house-elves and I had been left to rot in that dungeon alone after those deemed magical enough were either killed or swore their undying loyalty. I don't know how long I was left down there, but only Lucius stopped by to force feed me after I tried to starve myself to death. Death had seemed better than being trapped in that room, listening to Voldemort kill those he deemed unworthy with Bellatrix's cackle ringing in my ears. Through Lucius' visits, I learned that Voldemort had killed Draco as punishment for Lucius' hesitation to contact the dark lord when Harry had been delivered to them. As Lucius had mourned his son the dark lord took great delight in telling him that the boy was probably his, as Narcissa had been warming his bed for decades. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the man, it was clear he never suspected Narcissa's betrayal.

So Lucius in his grief had started to plot on how to take the dark lord down, how he could destroy him without ever being suspected. It was this plan that had me landing in the middle of that dinner. He had used ancient magic and blood adopted me as his daughter in spite of my protests." Hermione paused with the quill coming to rest against her lips, looking over the words that she had written. They didn't seem to encapsulate the horror of that ritual, of how terrified she had been in that dungeon, dreading the day that Greyback or Bellatrix would come down those stairs looking for a new plaything.

She had been asleep when the gate guarding her prison had clanged open, and Lucius had walked in accompanied by Voldemort. She had immediately shifted so that her back was against the wall, and she had cringed as his snake slithered into the dungeon behind them. "Lucius all this time you spend feeding her and she is a bag of bones. She will make a poor meal for Nagini." His red eyes had fixed on her as he spoke, his hand stroking the snake's head as she had wrapped herself around his leg.

"My lord, she was already half starved when she arrived, and I believe she has been purging the meals that I force feed her." Lucius had looked at her with almost dead eyes, his demeanor so aloof she wondered if he was even still sane anymore.

"Well that will not do, we cannot have this mudblood disobeying my orders. You will teach her what it means to obey Lucius, I want to hear her screams echoing down the halls, a warning to all the others who think to cheat their fate. After all, how can I publically have her executed if she looks half dead already." Voldemort's icy fingers had lifted her chin to look at her face then, turning it left and right before backhanding her. He had whispered something to Nagini, a strange hissing she knew had to be parseltongue. He had left, his robes billowing out behind him and Lucius had summoned ropes that pulled her into the middle of the room and held her in place.

"You don't have to do this" she had barely managed to croak out, her voice straining from lack of use.

"Yes, Miss Granger, I really do. This is necessary and you heard the dark lord, he wants to hear you scream." Lucius had then summoned a terrified-looking house elf and had implements and a cauldron brought to the dungeon. He had ignored every question she had asked, instead he moving around the dungeon and drawing runes, murmuring under his breath so that she could not hear him. And then he had started to trigger old wards in the manor, ancient magic that she could see dancing on the walls dropping blood from his cut palm on the runes he had , Hermione knew that ancient houses all had different ways of protecting its lords and she wondered what exactly he was planning to do to her.

He stopped at the cauldron once the dungeon was humming with magic and began to mix something in there that smelled vile. Hermione wanted to be strong, to give him nothing from what he was about to do, but the power she could feel coming from him and those wards had her terrified. When he came over to her, he didn't make eye contact, he simply cut her top so that her stomach was bared to him and used his dagger to make an incision just inside her belly button. She swore at him, called him every name she could think of and the only reaction she got was a twist of his lips and a tut. The smile that graced his face when that potion came to a boil sent a chill down her spine.

"Don't do this, I'll eat, just do not do this." She still didn't know what he was going to do, but she watched in terror as he filled a bottle from the cauldron and brought it over to her. She struggled against the ropes as he poured the potion over her stomach where he had cut her. It was warm against her skin and she strained to see what it was doing. She heard him hiss and looked up to see that he had reopened the wound on his hand and was now pouring his own blood onto the potion that was seeping into her skin.

At first, nothing happened, it felt warm and she was disgusted that he was bleeding on her but nothing happened. But then he had drawn a rune on her skin and she watched the potion seem to grow sentient and dive straight into her open wound. She screamed as what she was sure was molten lava burned through her veins. She pulled on the restraints trying to escape, the pain of being filled by that potion felt like it had set every cell she had on fire. She could feel something happening to her, changing her even as she could feel it burning her from the inside out until all she could do was writhe and scream. Her body went into spasm from the pain and she was sure she felt her arm pop out of joint. She screamed until she could not scream anymore and passed out from the pain.

It felt like hours had passed when she awoke still tied up in the middle of the dungeon. Her whole body ached and she could feel the lingering heat inside her. Lucius was standing next to her, his hand on her cheek and looking at her like a cat would a mouse. He must have healed her arm because although it ached she no longer felt like it had been ripped from its socket, but as she was tied up she couldn't test that theory. He pressed a glass of water to her lips and she drank it feeling a reprieve from the burning that had coursed through her. He spoke to her then, but his eyes continued to move around her face making her feel extremely self-conscious.

"Miss Granger, there are things I must tell you, and we have little time to get through them, so I will require you to keep your questions at bay. I will answer them after I have finished speaking." His voice was graveled, no longer the silky purr she had remembered it being, but she simply nodded when he had waited for her response. "The spell I have performed has altered your essence, you are no longer your parent's child, you are mine. In moments this spell will be completed and you will no longer be here and I will perish with the spell, but first, there are things you must know.

"I have used an old family spell, an insurance should the last of the male line be killed. You will be sent back in time to prevent me from making the mistakes that led us to here. I will give you memories to give to my younger self and to my father so that they know what you tell them is true. In all honesty, this spell should have been done with Draco. But Bellatrix was always present to prevent me doing anything to keep my son alive. The hateful bitch never got over not having a child of her own so taking mine from this world was something that gave her great joy, even if she didn't get to do it herself.

"The world as you know it will no longer exist, every decision you make, everyone you speak to will change the path that leads to this moment, Hermione. You must destroy it, do everything you can to make sure that the Dark Lord does not win so that my son is not killed for my mistakes." His eyes dropped from hers then, and he took a deep shuddering breath.

"Narcissa and I lost several children before we were able to have Draco, but none but he was strong enough to survive. He was everything a parent could ask for, and we overindulged him. We did not prepare him for the world that we helped to create and in doing so, I failed him. Losing Narcissa broke my heart, but losing my only child…" his voice broke as he spoke, and that hollow look returned to his eyes briefly. "Losing my child destroyed what was left of my tattered soul, and so here I am, a broken desperate man, willing to do anything to prevent this from happening again. You are my only hope, I cannot return, nor do I want to keep living with this emptiness inside me.

"My father will never know the truth of your birth, he will sense my blood in you, and that will be enough for him. My blood my essence has replaced that of your father's so you are my child in every way that matters, but I would avoid mention of anything to do with muggles if you do not wish to send him into a rage. From what I remember those can be quite spectacular." A ghost of a smile lingered on his features for a moment, but it faded as quickly as it had appeared. He lifted a curl from her shoulder and Hermione was shocked by the silvery colour. He pushed it behind her ear and seemed to be looking her over as though he had never really seen her before.

"Change me back, I don't want any part of what you are doing. I am not some pawn for you to maneuver on a chessboard. There's no guarantee that sending me back will change the future for the better, or that anyone would listen to me. I'm muggleborn, I'm a girl and pureblood society is so up its own arse that I could play a reel of everything Voldemort does and you'd all still chose to follow him because he promises you more power." Hermione pulled herself to her feet and tried to leave the runic circle and found that she was trapped. "Let me out of here."

"I will believe you because you will show me these memories, of everything he cost me. You are mine, my child now and my younger self will protect you. And it's too late, Hermione, as I am already dying." He lifted his arm then, showing that he had cut through his dark mark and some kind of black liquid was running down his arm. "I have betrayed him, and he will come for me, and I cannot allow my house to end with me." He grimaced then, swaying as he spoke as the blood loss was clearly taking its toll.

"The ritual is done and will complete itself with my death which will be very soon, I would apologize, but I would not mean a word of it. You are my revenge, Miss Granger and I take great pleasure in knowing you will be the downfall he never sees coming. I have made so many mistakes that led me here, so many of the families you scorn trusted a man who destroyed everything we knew and loved to create his new world order. And he did it all so demurely that we thought it was our idea. The Blacks disowned their heir and neglected the youngest, the Prewetts threw their sons away, letting them both become aurors. Those of the light and the dark, it didn't matter he found a way to destroy us all.

"Instead of preserving our houses he destroyed them, and we let him. I wouldn't stop this ritual and let you go even if I could. You need to go back, my younger self might resist listening to you, but my father will not. Preservation of this family is all he ever cared about. And thanks to this ritual you are the first girl of Malfoy blood in nearly four hundred years. My father was a hard man but he always wanted a daughter, having you arrive, a girl who is effectively his grandchild because of this spell, he will do anything to keep you safe. That is the only thing I can promise you, Hermione, that you will be safe there. I cannot keep you safe here, the dark lord has plans for you, plans far worse than what he has allowed Bellatrix to do to you."

"What could be worse than Bellatrix?" She asked, not quite believing that such a thing even existed.

With a grimace, he answered. "Greyback has been demanding a mate to bear his pups. You being a muggleborn in his new world order, would be seen to elevating her status from filth to beasts broodmare."

"I thought he wanted to publically execute me?" she asked, confused, even as she winced at the idea of being Greybacks mistress.

"He does, but he is more than willing to let those he favours play with you first, my torturing of you was meant to be my reward for taking my punishment so well." he gave a grimace, his whole face practically bleeding with unspoken pain.

Hermione had been looking at Lucius in horror as she realized the enormity of what he had planned when she heard Bellatrix's cackle coming from the stairwell. She was being sent back to a time she did not know, to people she didn't know or trust and she knew no matter what happened, life as she knew it was over. She had no idea why Bellatrix had come back to the manor, but she had taken one look at the runes and paled. In the momentary distraction, Lucius had pressed a glass vial into Hermione's hands and told her not to fail.

"Traitor!" Bellatrix had screamed and Lucius had simply stood, unarmed and waiting to die as she cursed him. He never raised his wand to protect himself, and what stuck in Hermione's mind was the resigned look on his face as the killing curse had taken him. Even weeks later as she tried to make sense of that day in her diary she could not get it out of her mind, he had seemed so hopeless at that moment.

Bellatrix had turned her wand in Hermione's direction then but before she could fire off a curse the runes around Hermione had lit up like a beacon as the room around them began to crumble. Her bonds had dropped her and she had fallen, landing awkwardly and she dodged a curse that was flung her way. She had no wand and tried to dive behind her bed, but she instead fell through the floor. She fell so fast that all she could was a blur of flashing light and darkness. She fell on her side, sending a glass of wine shattering to the floor and a tray of cut meats into the air. "Fuck" was all she said before wands were drawn in her face.


	2. Watch Over You

**_Authors Note._**

 _I am honestly amazed at the response that this story has received, your reviews have honestly made my day. I hope you enjoy this update and I would love to hear what you think of this story so far. Love SinsofDragons._

* * *

 _I can't go on and let you lose it all_

 _It's more than I can take._

 _Who'll ease your pain?_

 _Who is gonna save you when I'm gone?_

 _Who'll watch over you?_

 _Who will give you strength when you're not strong._

 _Who'll watch over you when I've gone_

 _ **Alter Bridge - Watch Over You.**_

* * *

The room was silent for only moments before a trio of wands had appeared in her face and Hermione had held her hands up shakily. She vaguely recognized the room as the one as she had been tortured in by Bellatrix. Except now it was a dining room, decorated with emerald and silver tapestries and she had clearly interrupted a meal. "Stop!" she held her hands up defensively, knowing full well there was nothing she could do to defend herself against them should they attack her. "My name is Hermione, and my father sent me back, he said to give this to you." She gestured the vial in her left hand and held it to the man she assumed was Lucius. He was young, her age or maybe a little older and he had his hair tied back but she recognized the eyes. These were weary even as he took the vial. He was with two others, they were clearly his parents, both golden haired but with aristocratic features.

"Who is your father?" the elder male asked and Hermione had simply looked at the younger version of Lucius and said, "He is." He had scoffed, taking a hair from her head and murmuring some spell. He had almost smiled when it had turned gold but it had taken hours to convince them that she meant them no harm, and Lucius had eventually taken the vial somewhere and viewed the memories himself as his father had interrogated Hermione.

She already knew his father's name was Abraxas but she did not know his mother's name was Selene. She was incredibly beautiful, with kind eyes and had been the only one to show her any kindness. Abraxas was tall, clearly older than his wife and she was amused to note that his son clearly favoured his wife, as the only similarities that Lucius shared with Abraxas were his build and those icy blue eyes. Selene had admonished her husband and son for raising their voices when couldn't they see that Hermione had been through an ordeal. She had then also admonished Hermione for having cursed when she landed and ruined their meal. Apparently, ladies of good breeding did not do such things.

Selene had taken her upstairs to an unused guest suit and had her bathed and clothed, washing soot and grime from her skin. She had insisted on helping Hermione, remarking that she didn't look strong enough to do so on her own. "Hush Hermione, you look like a strong breeze would send you flying. Honestly, you're as bad as Lucius, too proud to let anyone help you, even when it's in your best interests to do so."

And so Hermione had relented, letting the witch help her wash off weeks of dirt and grime, and heal the wounds that littered her skin. The wound on her stomach had disappeared and Hermione could not help but wonder if Lucius had hidden it himself to hide any trace of what he had done. Selene had talked as she healed Hermione, telling her tales about her and her husband, and Hermione got the distinct feeling she was doing so because she too felt uncomfortable with the situation. She did not speak of her son, and Hermione got the impression that that was because he was sacred to her, off-limits until she proved herself to them all. So she had remained quiet until she was dressed and accompanied to a different dining room to await Abraxas and Lucius.

It had felt like hours had passed when Lucius had finally emerged and confirmed that what she had been telling them was true. That his son had been killed and he had sent her back with his dying breath. He had looked at her with a mixture of fear and resignation and Abraxas had paled when he told his father how their line had come to an end. Lord Voldemort had destroyed their world and way of life. Hermione had been shocked when Abraxas had pulled her into his arms and swore to keep her was shocking to have human contact that didn't involve pain after so long in captivity. It was the first time since Ron and Harry had died that anyone had thought to hold her and Hermione had broken down in tears.

The sensation of being held of not being alone, of having someone, anyone caring about her broke something inside her. And so she had clung to the wizard, the patriarch of a family that had scorned her, and had trembled as she cried for everyone she had lost. He had simply held her in his arms, and she had not heard anything he said except that his rumbling voice had a melodic tone that calmed her frayed was a strange sensation to feel remotely safe after so long. She had cried until she had fallen asleep listening to a stranger's heart in a time that she did not know.

That had been three days ago and Abraxas and Selene had been true to their words, they had kept her safe. Her name had appeared on the family tree next to Lucius the next morning and she had been bathed and fed. Lucius had explained to them as she slept that she had been tortured by the dark lord and his followers before he could rescue her from their clutches. He had also asked to see some of her memories of what happened and she had been surprised when he apologised for what had happened to her. They had decided whilst she slept that she would officially be the daughter of Abraxas and Selene, and Lucius her elder brother. They had contacted a few of their closest friends, those not already aligned with Riddle and discussed how to explain her presence.

It was decided that she would have been raised protected and hidden to fight off the superstition that Malfoy's did not breed daughters. Hermione could admit that she was annoyed that they had made these decisions without her, but she found she didn't have the strength to fight them on anything just yet. She was still adjusting to feeling safe and so had agreed for now. Abraxas decided she would have had a private tutor to explain why she was on no school register. She was informed that she would be meeting Alecto Carrow who would swear the two had been friends since infancy. When Hermione had argued that they needed to be looking to bring Riddle down, Selene had taken her aside and explained that she couldn't just appear from nowhere, they had to announce her and have it seem like she had always been there. She had resisted stating that any kind of announcement would draw attention and had been shocked when Selene had laughed.

"Well, of course, it will darling, you're a Malfoy. Everyone who's everyone should have known about you because you are a way for them to make allegiances between our house and theirs. The fact that they didn't know will throw them off, they will feel like we did not trust them with something we consider precious, especially when the Carrows, the Goyles, the Crabbes and the Avery's will all swear to have known you since infancy. They do not know that you are from the future, and we do not intend to tell them so. Who you truly are will remain a family secret, darling." Selene had sat Hermione in front of a mirror then and began to brush the young witches hair as she spoke.

"If the other families were to learn what we can do, what we have done, they would kill us all. Meddling with time is illegal, everything you do now changes the path from the one that you came from." She had smiled then, her eyes a little sad as she spoke. "I presume my husband and I do not live long enough to make an impression on you, so I can't help but be a little glad that you have come back to us. Abraxas is a stern man, just like his father was, but he always wanted a daughter and that was the one thing I failed to give him." She paused then, giving Hermione a watery smile. "And look at you, you're beautiful."

So Hermione looked into the mirror as Selene had brushed her hair and looked for her own features. There was no mistaking that she looked like a Malfoy now, her hair hung in long silvery locks that reached her waist. She had blue eyes the colour sapphires in sunlight and she could admit to herself that they were pretty but she missed the chocolate brown. She eventually saw that her nose was the same and her lips still had cupid's bow that her mother told her meant she was destined for a great love. She was still short, her body still petite but she did wonder if that was because she was still very malnourished. She was pretty but Hermione couldn't get passed how haunted she looked, it was almost like everything she had suffered was there on her face for everyone to see.

"What I am is skinny. I look like a half-starved waif from some torrid romance novel. I am annoyed that you all seem so calm after everything I have told you. He ends the sacred twenty-eight, and what is left of it is a mockery of everything you believe in." The words were grumbled as she spoke, she was still annoyed that Lucius had used magic to not only adopt her but to make her look like this. She could see herself and yet someone she didn't know the girl that looked back at her in that mirror.

"Hermione we are doing something, we are solidifying who you are in the world so that he does not become suspicious of you. It takes time and you are in no condition to just rush off and fight the world." She paused then, the brush that had been working through Hermione's hair stopping for a moment. "Well I wasn't going to say anything, darling, but yes you are a little too slender for comfort. I'll have Dobby make sure you have food to snack on during the day, I don't think just meals and nourishment potions are going to be enough to get you back to health." She smiled at Hermione through the mirror and Hermione was pleased to see that she looked like Selene, she could have passed for her daughter, which Hermione guessed was the whole point of Lucius' spells.

"Dobby is here?" Hermione asked and the witch had grinned as she met Hermione's gaze. If he was it made Hermione wonder just how old the elf actually was. She knew they had long lifespans, sometimes living for nearly three centuries if they were well cared for, but Dobby had always seemed very young to her.

"Yes dear, he will be overjoyed to know that you remember him. He is rather exuberant for a house elf but it pleases me to know that he still served the family in the future, he always was a favourite of mine." She had straightened then and held her hand out for Hermione to take. Pulling Hermione to her feet she walked in a circle around the young witch, correcting her posture when Hermione did not stand straight. "I know you have been through a lot darling, but they will expect you to be perfect, so you must stand tall and aloof as though nothing they do could ever upset them nothing to harm you with, and let them be intimidated by the power that you have that they never will."

When Hermione had looked confused she had laughed. "You are from the richest family in the British Isles darling, and that money will open many doors for you. There will be people who wish to tear you down and take it all from you. Never let them. You are not only rich, you have power all of your own. Lucius told me some of what you showed him and how very talented you are. Don't let it be known, let them see the doll and dismiss you as weak, they will never see the power you wield until it is too late."

"Should I be expecting to be attacked sometime soon?" Hermione had asked, wondering exactly why the witch thought Hermione was going to be attacked considering she and her Husband had sworn to keep her safe.

Laughing Selene had kissed Hermione's cheek. "Yes darling, we women can be rather petty and vicious when riled, and there are some who are about to realise their theories of being the most beautiful witch in England are sorely mistaken. You have beauty, a good name with money and power, and they will hate you for it." She grinned at Hermione her hands coming to rest on her shoulders. "I wouldn't worry too much though, I had all the same things and married a wonderful man who worships the ground I deign to walk upon."

Hermione raised an eyebrow not sure what to think and smiled when she saw Lucius lingering in the doorway with his father. Selene had turned to see them and huffed before inviting them in. "Come in will you both and stop lingering in doorways, Lucius I know I raised you better than to just lurk." Lucius had murmured an apology to his mother squeezing her hand as he passed them heading for one of the arm chairs in the kissed Hermione's temple before she took the one opposite her son that overlooked the garden. Abraxas did not sit, he stood before Hermione and seemed to be weighing her worth before nodding to himself. "Selene we will need to get her properly attired, this will do for now, but she needs to meet Alecto soon and she must not be seen to be so thin, they'll think we starved the girl."

Hermione bit back a growl wanting to tell the man that actually yes one of them had helped in starving her, but knew nothing good would come from it. She too thought she was far too skinny and seventies wizarding fashion was not a good look in her opinion. She was saved from commenting when Selene spoke. "Of course, my love," Selene answered. "Callix will be able to make a few things for now until we can head to get her a new wardrobe."

"Very good. Now, my dear, we must work out what you will call us all. What did you call Lucius?" Abraxas guided her to the chair next to the fire and took the seat by his wife. He crossed his leg so that his ankle rested on the opposite knee and watched Hermione, clearly waiting for her to respond.

Hermione turned and looked at Lucius before sighing. She racked her brain trying to think of what would be appropriate considering the charade that she would be expected to keep. "I called him Father in public, but Dad when were at home. I don't feel comfortable calling you that though, so perhaps Papa? Our name sounds French so no one would really question a continental endearment, especially if I call Grandma Mama." She gave them a weak smile before looking at Lucius for help.

"Call me Luc, you will be the only one allowed to, but it makes sense that my little sister gets certain allowances that others do not. I'll call you Mia, after all, you are technically mine". Lucius looked stressed, he seemed to be struggling just as much as she did and he had been shocked to learn about everything he had done. It was a heavy thing to learn that his life had been a lie and that it had cost he and his family everything. Hermione did not know what to think of belonging to Lucius, she certainly didn't think of him as a father and knew that he more than likely felt just as confused as she did.

Hermione simply nodded in response, looking from each face and wondering what they were planning that they wanted to present a united front as they spoke to her. It was the same look she had seen the order share when they had tried to tell Harry what he could and could not do. "What is it?"

"Your scar child, the one on your neck, how did you get it?" Abraxas asked as he gestured to the healed wound.

"From a mad woman that tortured me to find out if I had been in her vaults at Gringotts. For the record, I had not, but she did not seem to care for any truth I could give her. So she used a cursed blade to give me a mark that I would not soon forget before torturing me with the cruciatus curse." Selene had gasped and raised her hand to her mouth, but Lucius and Abraxas had simply shared a look as though she had confirmed what they had thought.

"And what did this woman seem to think you had taken from her vaults that was so important?" Abraxas inquired.

Hermione hesitated for a moment, looking between them, but she knew she had already shown Lucius some of what she had been through in the war. "She thought I had taken a Horcrux, more importantly, one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. She must have been hiding one for him in her vaults and assumed because I had the sword that I had taken the Horcrux too. The sword was never in her vault, she had been housing a fake."

Abraxas held his hand up then, his blue eyes fixed on her as he spoke. "What do you mean Horcruxes and what sword?"

"The sword of Gryffindor, its goblin made so its imbued to take in that which makes it stronger. My friend Harry used it to kill a basilisk and imbued it with the venom, and basilisk venom is one of the few things that can be used to destroy a Horcrux." She said it all matter of factly and ignored Abraxas when he looked as though he would interrupt again. "And I mean Horcruxes because he had seven of them. If you don't know what they are, it's a piece of one's soul ripped from the whole by committing murder and housing it in a vessel away from their body in order to be able to survive death and be resurrected."

"Yes I know what they are dear, but thank you for clarifying. I am appalled that he would make one, yet alone seven! The amount of damage he would have had to do to his soul would leave him barely human and dangerous." He went quiet for a moment before he looked at her speculatively. "Hermione, what house were you sorted into at Hogwarts?"

"Gryffindor" she answered without any hesitation.

He responded by nodding and sharing a look with his wife. "It seems my dear I owe you some galleons." He laughed when simply smiled smugly at him in response. He turned to Hermione, his face sobering as he did so. "You're far too trusting child, but you seem to have nerves of steel and are not easily intimidated, I would have placed you as a Slytherin but it seems my wife sees you better than I do. You would be the first Malfoy to grace that house, I imagine it caused quite the stir." He paused then, looking at her and a small smile gracing his features as he pictured a Malfoy being sorted into Gryffindor and finding the image amusing. "No matter, we'll teach you to be a little warier but that can wait. For now, heal and let your Mama indulge you. She has a lot to teach you and a short time in which to do so, Alecto will be here in a few days."

Hermione nodded and said, "Yes, Papa". The words felt weird on her tongue but she was rewarded with a warm smile from Abraxas even as Lucius looked as uncomfortable as she felt. She watched them, and the way they shared a weighted look before she decided that she had had enough of letting them run the conversation. "I need to tell you a few things so that we are all on the same page."

Abraxas lifted one eyebrow seeming surprised but curious as to what she had to say. "Very well, speak and be heard, my dear."

Hermione took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a second and began. "I don't know what those memories showed you, Luc but you need to know this. You married Narcissa Black and from what I saw had a happy marriage with her, at least that's what I thought. But then Voldemort came back from being a soul wraith and they went back to the affair that they had been having in secret. Narcissa would have already started that affair by now, she started it whilst she was still in Hogwarts. You cannot marry her, she is the reason that Draco dies, Voldemort never forgave her for giving you an heir. She was meant to be his.

"You also can't let on that you know who the affair is with, so you need to find a reason to break off the engagement." Hermione dropped her eyes then, it was hard to talk about this, to try and convey just how much the witch's' betrayal had broken the Lucius she had known.

"I will speak to Orion, tell him that word has reached my ears of her unsavory activities and how such conduct is unsuitable for the bride of a Malfoy. Any smear on her reputation is grounds for breaking the engagement, and the wording of the contract does not require proof. I take the wellbeing of my children and the future of this house seriously my dear." Abraxas inclined his head when Hermione met his eyes and she felt herself relax a little as she did do.

"The other thing you need to know, which I don't think you are taking seriously is that he ends the lines of nearly every pureblood family." Hermione didn't really care about purebloods but she knew that they did. Lineage meant everything to them, keeping the magic alive and well and flowing through their families veins was the legacy they passed from father to child and she knew that's what she needed to focus on to get them to see it as she did.

"Voldemort killed your grandson Draco, Sirius Black is disowned by his family and Regulus dies without a child. The Avery's lose every child in infancy, the MacNairs sons die before they marry. The Rowles addiction to fire is used against them until only a daughter remains able to continue the line and the Longbottoms are driven insane. Weasleys, Potters, Parkinsons, Shafiqs and so on have every male in their family killed. He effectively ends what it means to be pure blood. He makes it so that no one can have purer blood than he as he is a half-blood. And then he enslaves the muggleborns, deeming them to be little more use than a house elf and he does it with the support of those he bent to his will. The insane and the power-hungry follow him and his madness and anyone that could have stopped him was systematically taken down before they could be a threat."

Lucius interrupted then. "The Dark Lord is a pure blood."

"No, he is not" Hermione states. "He is a half-blood, son of Tom Riddle a muggle aristocrat and Merope Gaunt who died in childbirth. He was raised in a muggle orphanage and has a chip on his shoulder about anyone being better than him. He is the true heir to Slytherin and it was him that released the creature that killed Moaning Myrtle. As long as he has Horcruxes he can never be truly destroyed and unfortunately I don't know how many he has already made in his time.

"Personally I would rather not be around to watch as he does it all again so I need to know that you aren't already allied with him. I can't be in the same room as that thing again, I refuse to be." She was nervous now, Abraxas had been the first person to make her feel safe in a long time and the idea of leaving the safety he offered her was terrifying but Voldemort scared her more than being alone in a strange time and place did.

The silence that followed her words was deafening and Hermione struggled not to fidget as she waited for any of them to respond to her words. When she thought that they would not respond she moved to stand but Abraxas spoke.

"Stay where you are." He held out his hand and Hermione watched as Selene placed her hand in his, squeezing his fingers as though to led her support to his words. "You have given me a lot to think about, and somethings I had planned will have to be changed. I did not think him capable of destroying our way of life, of taking away everything we worked so hard to preserve. He has already started, the Black boy was disowned a few weeks ago by his mother whilst Orion was out of the country. As far as I know, nothing has been done to rectify the situation."

He paused then, meeting Hermione's eyes. "I am not in league with Tom Riddle, he has made overtures about a business arrangement but I will not be a sycophant for anyone, let alone a petulant boy I knew in school. My son has been approached but already have plans for his future that does not include the downfall of this family. I swore that you would be safe here Hermione and I meant it, and in order to do that, I need allies. In the morning the Carrows will bring their daughter to meet you. She is a lovely girl, a little shy and I am sure she will be happy to help you adjust. They all believe you have come back from France and will be joining Hogwarts for your final year of school."

Hermione balked. "Wait, I am going to Hogwarts, what part of.."

"Hermione, do not interrupt." Selene talked over Hermione's protests. "Yes, you will be going back to school. Lucius told us that he recruited some of his classmates during their school years. We need you there so that you can see who he is recruiting, who we need to watch out for and what families need to be warned of their impending downfall. We are taking this seriously, we promise you, but as you have made abundantly clear, he is very powerful and we do not know how many Horcruxes he has made or their location. Now go get ready, you and your Papa are heading to Diagon Alley, we need to get you a wand."


	3. Traumas of the bleakest house

" _In restless dreams, I walked alone,_

 _Narrow streets of cobblestone._

 _'Neath the halo of a street lamp,_

 _I turned my collar to the cold and damp._

 _When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light..._

 _That split the night,_

 _And touched the sound of silence."_

 _ **The Sound of Silence.**_

His hand shook as he pulled on the cigarette between his lips, the glowing embers were the only light beyond the stars that fought the darkness of the night. The dressing wrapped around his arm was dirty where it wrapped around the heel of his hand. He had been released from St Mungos three days ago and now that the potions were leaving his system he couldn't sleep. Six broken ribs. A ruptured spleen. A punctured diaphragm. Third degree burns to his left arm. Brain swelling. His cousin had almost murdered him.

Sirius stared out into the inky black night from the wicker sofa on the Potters back porch. When he thought back to that moment before something in his family magic had intervened, Sirius could remember the murderous intent on Bella's face. She had wanted him dead with a passion and a hunger that he could not understand. They had wanted him to kneel. To submit. To do the one thing as the Black heir it had been bred in him never to do, to be subservient to their Dark Lord.

Who would have guessed that with every other way that he had rebelled his from his family and their expectations that stubborn pride would have been the thing to stick. Toujours Pur. Always pure. His family words, they were engraved on the signet ring on his left index finger that no matter how much he tried he could not take off. A gaudy black diamond embossed with their crest, which dated back hundreds of years and was the finest goblin made jewellery. Only the heir, the male heir of the Black family could wear it, as it was his birthright. And Bella, Bella had tried to cut off his hand to take it from him.

It was then the family magic kicked in, it seemed you could beat the heir, torture him even. But dare try and to claim his place and for that travesty, the blood magic of House Black had attacked everyone else in the family in his mother's parlour that day. Everyone there of his blood had fallen to the ground screaming. Bella had even turned blue and began tearing at her throat trying to breathe. He had felt his Fathers magic then, although how that was possible he was not sure as he was well aware that Orion had been out of the country with his latest mistress. His Fathers magic had transported him to St Mungos where he had promptly collapsed and caused several women in the waiting room to scream in terror at the sight of him.

Something in the way they had screamed and how the Potter's had hovered over him when he had awoken some days later had him refusing to even contemplate looking in a mirror. His left arm would heal they told him, but the scorch mark on his inner arm would leave a port stain scar. His bones had been mended but were still causing him pain and the potions that they had him on tasted so foul, that he was convinced that the healers had replaced at least one of them with goblin piss.

Dorea Potter, James' Mum had informed him that his Father was "dealing" with his family and had requested Dorea take care of his son and heir until he got to the source of the violence in his family. And so here he was, sat in their back garden staring into the embers of his pilfered cigarette and brooding over whether he was now the ugliest fuck in the Gryffindor tower and what exactly had possessed his family to try and kill him. Oh, he knew his mother despised him, she had done for as long as he could remember. He was not the son that she had envisioned herself having and when he had been sorted into Gryffindor that had been the final nail in the coffin of any affection the woman may have ever held for him.

Sirius was too much like his father. He had the same piercing silver eyes, aristocratic features just a shade too handsome to be thought of as stiff as some pureblood families appeared. He didn't have the pinched look on his face that seemed to say "Can I smell shit?" when he looked at people. He had an easy charm that made people like him and an explosive temper that rivalled Orions own. No one would ever doubt that he was his father's son, he was far too much like him, and that was one of the reasons that Walburga, his mother, had hated him. Sirius knew that he was one of the few things in this world that his father truly loved, an affection that his mother had never been bestowed.

Their relationship had been forced on Orion, as a debt that his father Arcturus had owed his cousin Pollux had allowed Pollux to force the union. And so Orion had wed Walburga but had never been in love. Sirius sometimes wondered if Walburga had been in love with the idea of Orion but when she realised that he would never love her with even part of the easy affection he had for his sons, she had blamed Sirius for being his heir and clung his brother Regulus all the closer to her. She loved Regulus with the same fierceness that she had hated Sirius and deep down, Sirius hated himself for envying his brother that affection.

He had never really known a mothers love. Oh Dorea doted on him, she had wanted a house full of children but the fates had only ever blessed her with James and she loved him with everything she had. But Sirius could see that she yearned for more children that she would never have and so to spite his own mother and to delight Dorea he had taken to calling her his Ma. It had amused Charlus, her husband and had driven his own mother into a fury when she learned that he behaved as a better son to the family blood traitor than he ever had for her. Sirius would have probably resisted the urge had Walburga loved him even a little, but she never had as far as he could remember. He was the heir, Orions child and therefore she could never truly have him to herself the way she did Regulus.

Sirius sighed into the night air and reached across the wicker sofa to the reason he had come out here alone in the dead of night. It hurt to move, but Sirius refused to be deterred. He needed to know just how much damage had been done to his hands, to his voice from all the screaming that had ripped his vocal cords as Bella had tried to break him to her will. He adjusted the beaten up guitar in his lap and winched at the pain in his ribs as he moved, but he would not be deterred.

With cautious fingers, he began to pluck the soft cords that evoked a haunting melody as he sang softly. " _Hello, darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again. Because a vision softly creeping, Left its seeds while I was sleeping.."_ His voice rasped as he sang, the overuse of his vocal cords making him sound older than his seventeen years. The song was a muggle song he had heard in a record store in London when he was younger. His Uncle Alphard had frequently whisked him away from Grimmauld Place to rescue him from his family and his uncle had a thing for muggles. He was fascinated by them and would often bring Sirius with him to museums and concerts broadening Sirius' young mind with the possibilities that as a Pureblood family heir he was never meant to know. It was taboo and Sirius had taken to it like a duck to water.

His left hand sent spikes of pain along his arm making him wince as he played but he refused to stop. He would endure this, he had to endure this. He refused to let Bella and his family take away one of the few joys he truly had in his life, he'd rather be dead than be so defeated. And so he played, each note plucked from the guitar like threads from his battered soul, his voice growing stronger as he sang until his lost himself to the pain in his soul and the freedom that singing gave him when nothing else could. " _And in the naked light I saw, Ten thousand people, maybe more. People talking without speaking. People hearing without listening. People writing songs that voices never share, And no one dared, Disturb the sound of silence. 'Fools,' said I, 'You do not know. Silence, like a cancer, grows. Hear my words that I might teach you, Take my arms that I might reach you.' But my words like silent raindrops fell. And echoed in the wells of silence."_

Sirius wasn't quite sure when James appeared next to him, only that between one moment and the next he went from being alone in his misery to feeling like he was almost whole again. James had always had that effect on Sirius, they had met on the train to Hogwarts on the first day of school and had been inseparable since. If one of them was in trouble the other was either with them and laughing or working on a way to rescue them before they could be caught. Remus had once remarked that he and James might well be soul mates, that such a bond is not always a romantic one, but simply a kinship that defied normal convention or reason. Sirius thought that Remus had taken a divination a little too seriously if he truly he believed such bullshit but he did not deny that he was closer to James than any other person he knew, not even his own brother.

James interrupted when Sirius paused for a breath. "That is a depressing fucking dirge your wailing there Pads, want me to call for a fainting couch so you can complete the dramatics and feint like a proper waif in need of rescue?"

And then there were times that Sirius wondered how he hadn't taken a bludgers bat to the sarcastic tosser just to shut him up. "Fuck off, Prongs. You'd give your left nut to be able to sing like this. Maybe then Evans would give you a shot in hell instead of a visit from her fist to your face."

"Ooh, he's testy when he's pitying himself. Whatcha think, Moony, should we trade his arse in for a less pathetic model. I mean he's worse than you right now after a full moon". James spread out on his half of the couch as Remus came to sit with his back resting on the space between James and Sirius.

"Moony, any chance I can skip the full moon this month in the hopes that you finally get the venison steak you've been hungering for. I think it's time Bambi got put back on the werewolf's menu." Sirius groused, even as he stopped playing and turned to look at his friends.

"Fuck you, Padfoot," James said without any real venom.

"Dream on, Prongs, we all know the real reason you can't make a move with Evans is 'cause your secretly hoping you have a shot with me." He smirked, wincing a little as the movement reopened his split lip "It's a burden being this sexy".

Remus, ever the mediator simply pushed James back in his seat and pressed a potion into Sirius' hand. "Drink, you'll feel better."

"You drink it, Moony. tastes like goblin piss" Sirius groused even as he took the potion being forced into his hand as Remus took on his role of nurse once more. A role that he had taken to with a fierceness that even had Dorea giving way when Remus thought he knew best.

"Have a lot of experience with goblin piss, Pads?" James quipped, earning him a stinging hex from Sirius and an eye roll from Remus.

Sirius ignored him and tried to push Remus away when he began reaching from the dressing over Sirius's hand. Remus growled and his eyes glowed amber but Sirius had had enough of feeling fucking helpless. "Get fucking off me. That's it, no more of this coddling bullshit. I can't stand it so just fucking stop." He went to stand but before he could James was blocking his path, halting his exit because he knew Sirius did not have the strength to go through him.

"Get over your fucking self, mate. You almost fucking died. They starved you, tortured you for weeks. We couldn't reach you, and then we get an owl in the middle of the fucking night from Mary McDonald saying you just appeared in St Mungos and shes pretty certain you're going to die. You spent a week in a coma from blood loss and trauma, almost lost a hand, almost lost your mind from what the healers said and you think we ain't gonna hover. Fuck you and that Black family pride bullshit you've been sniffing." James' face was mottled red with the rage Sirius knew his friend had been bottling, a rage that he was finally letting explode.

"I thought you were fucking dead. I thought my best mate was going to die in that hospital bed and I swear to Merlin himself if you ever tell me to stop caring about you again I will personally gut you myself. You are my family. You, me, Remus and Pete are fucking brothers, and yes Moony talks some star crossed bullshit 'bout me and you but fuck you he might be right. 'Cause I wanted to fucking die to if you didn't pull through. I'm not perfect, I'm an arrogant tosser at the best of times but I fucking love you like you are the brother I never had so man the fuck up and accept that some people in this world actually give a shit if you live. You guys, and my folks, that's all I've got in this world so fuck you and almost dying on me you selfish son of an evil bitch."

James was shaking with rage when he stopped, his finger trying to poke a hole through Sirius' chest as he prodded him over and over as he talked. Just when Sirius was going to angrily snarl a retort at James, Remus cut in before he could. "No one told me." He murmured. His voice was deceptively soft, but the glowing amber eyes let you know that it was Moony in control right then, nor Remus. "No one told me to go to the hospital, but Moony had been raging inside me for days and I was restless so I went for a walk. A walk Sirius. I walked from Luton, thirty miles into London and didn't stop until I was by your hospital bed. I was there before anyone else was. I was there before your father got there, there before Prongs and his parents arrived. Moony knew. He knew you, his pack, my family was in danger and the moment he could, he seized control and walked me, my body to your hospital side and I watched as they painstakingly fought to keep you alive as they put you back together.

"Your Dad, by the way, almost had to be sedated after he saw you. He stunned three Aurors who dragged him from your side to question him before the healers could calm him down. That man was broken when he saw you, we all fucking were. So pity yourself, but fucking don't shut us out. We're all we fucking have in this world, so accept that people love you and would be devastated if you died and let us fucking help you."

When Sirius did not say anything but looked between the other two marauders helplessly as though uncertain how to react, Remus simply took his hand and began checking the wound has he had been before, leaving a heavy silence to fester in the air. When Sirius couldn't handle it anymore he broke it "My Dad?" he questioned and James blew out a heavy breath as they all sat together again.

"I thought my Mum was scary, fuck me, your Dad could looked like he was ready to commit mass murder when he saw you…" but as James spoke Sirius hated the voice inside him that asked why Orion had not been there when he had awoken.


End file.
